Zambian minister shares housing experience

Windhoek-Zambia’s Minister of Transport, Infrastructure Housing and Urban Development, Ronald Chitotela, yesterday said his country’s current housing stock is 2.5 million units at a production rate of 73,000 units per year.
Chitotela was speaking at the two-day Shelter Afrique Southern Africa member states regional meeting that started in Windhoek yesterday.

Sharing on the Zambian housing situation, Chitotela said about 65 percent of the Zambian population lives in slums as a result of the increased housing deficit.

There are 2.5 million housing units and it is projected the housing deficit in Zambia will be 3.3 million by the year 2030, said Chitotela.

He said 64 percent of the total housing stock is rural.
“Of the 73,000 units produced each year, only 40 percent meets the minimum requirements for health and sanitation in accordance with the Zambian Public Health Act,” said Chitotela.

He said the current housing deficit in the country is about 1,539,000 units and is expected to rise to about 3,328,904 units by 2030.

Like in Namibia, the housing challenge in Zambia is most pronounced among low-income groups, “constituting nearly 80 percent of the population”, added Chitotela.

In order to address the housing deficit 222,000 new housing units need to be developed annually, he said. This means that 149,000 additional housing units need to be added to the current annual production of 73,000.

“Government plans to discount 60 percent unsuitable housing and to increase annual production to 193,000. But due to financial constraints, Zambia intends to produce an average of 116,000 units per year which is 60 percent of 193,000,” said Chitotela.